Stories of a Life in Italy

I’m so thrilled to announce that my good friend, Kelly Medford (of Kelly Medford Art and Sketching Tours Rome) and I are collaborating to bring her famous Watercolor Sketching workshop to Orvieto this October. It’s open to anyone who wants to spend a week painting and experiencing Orvieto, one brush stroke at a time. To register or find out more, go to Kelly’s website, as spaces are limited. Share with anyone who might want to join us. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. PAINTING ORVIETO, KELLY STYLE!

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It’s a message I’ve been attempting to get across to travellers for years. It’s become my own, personal mantra. I’ve recently made it an Instagram hashtag. I’ll shout it from the rooftops, if I have to…

“One day is not enough to fully experience all the wonders that Orvieto has to offer!”

Given the number of parties in Italy there are to choose from, candidate platforms to sort through, and the chess game that is the collalition-forming possibilities, voting here is not a simple undertaking. Preparation is key.

Here’s my step-by-step guide to voting in an Italian election…

Step one: If you’re an Italian citizen, register to vote at the local election office.

Step three: Visit your local coffee bar and ask the baristas and patrons for advice. They are a fountain of information. Order a double espresso to fortify yourself for what is about to come next.

Step four: Walk over to your polling place. Once there, things get a lot more complicated.

Step five: Find the voting room that corresponds with the number on your voting registration card. If a crowd has gathered, ask who is the last person waiting–it’s similar to queuing at the doctor’s office. There are no lines. Italians prefer to bunch.

Step six: While you’re waiting for a booth to open up, some enthusiastic citizen will give the group an explanation of how to mark your ballots. They’ll use the samples ballots hanging on the wall as a visual aid. After the lesson, you’ll still be confused.

Step seven: As a crowd forms and grows bigger, don’t get involved in arguments about who was there before whom; hold your ground and keep your elbows spread. Inside, poll workers were calling our group in–alternating between men and women–though no one is quite sure why.

Step eight: After you’ve been handed your ballots and a pencil, enter a voting booth, close the curtain behind you and mark an large “X” across the party or candidates (or both – this still isn’t completely clear to me) you’re voting for. Fold the ballots and drop them into the color-coded cardboard ballot boxes.

Sometimes it’s better to admit defeat—especially when it appears your opponents have the upper hand (and the youth and energy to outlast you.)

I could “go full postal” on these boys, but what would that accomplish, really? If my goal is to live harmoniously with others who share this little alley with me, then it’s time I wave the white flag of surrender and call a truce.

As I sit here on my stoop waiting for the owner of this lovely dirt bike to arrive, I wonder if he’ll be open to easing our hostility and strained relations too. I’m calling for an armistice: The end of our Vicolo Wars.

“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.” ― Neil Gaiman, American Gods

We have a total of four bookstores within the walls of Orvieto’s historical center. A disproportionate number for a town of its size—they’re eclipsed only by the number of bars, restaurants, barbershops and underwear stores.

Unfortunately, over the last several decades the world has witnessed the long, slow death of the independent bookshop. Most blame the decline on the advent of superstores and later by the domination of online companies such as Amazon. In today’s digital-based world is there still a place for brick-and-mortar bookstores?

One former Dublin bookseller and regular visitor to Italy thinks there is. “I believe that bookstores will survive in some manner, shape or form; they are already evolving by offering customers comfortable cafes, other gift items and electronics, including access to digital books via their own websites, while remaining cultural hubs. Today I am a frequent traveller in search of independent bookstores wherever I go!”

A book enthusiast

Bookworms who visit Orvieto will be happy to know that there are two such ‘repositories of knowledge’ located not far off the main high street, but far from the maddening crowds.

Libreria Arcimboldo

GianLuca Fioravanti of Libreria Arcimboldo

Libreria Arcimboldo is a second-hand bookshop located on Via Filippeschi (between Piazza della Repubblica and the medieval quarter.) The little shop sells a fascinating mishmosh of art books, first editions, out of print titles, literature, poetry, old bibles, and even vinyl records.

Proprietor GianLuca Fioravanti wasn’t always passionate about books and reading. In high school he’d studied economics, but found the subject so tedious and boring that he almost gave up reading all together. “Then I ran across Kafka and Flaubert—two leading novelist of the last two centuries—I have not stopped reading since.” Changing to the study of philosophy opened him up to the worlds of art, history and poetry, as well.

Finding work in the literary field wasn’t easy so GianLuca took a series of jobs that helped him develop his people and trading skills. During that period he lived in Rome’s Trastevere district where he spent a great deal of time browsing neighborhood bookshops. He literally woke up one day and thought, “EUREKA! I will open a bookstore!” He chose Orvieto because it’s where his ancestors originated and because, “I think the city is gorgeous with many hidden treasures.”

Libreria Antiquaria Baduel

Owner of Libreria Antiquaria Baduel, Mario Tedeschini

Mario Tedeschini’s love of reading began at age thirteen. Spending afternoons with his nose in a book from his parents’ library, he began cataloging each finished volume by subject and time of printing. In essence he’d drafted his first inventory—unaware that years later it would become his profession.

Mario started his career in 1997 with a bibliographic study in which he published a catalog of ancient books. In 2000, he opened Libreria Antiquaria Baduel on Via Vitozzi and, at about the same time, was certified as an expert authorized to issue opinions about the originality and market value of books, prints and manuscripts.

The oldest book in his possession at the moment was printed in 1561, but Mario points out that books aren’t necessarily deemed rare or valuable because of their age; rather they’re appraised for their historical significance or important subject matter.

Formation of Eve, relief basement of the façade of the Orvieto Cathedral. Engraving made in 1791

“The engine that drives me to continue a job that is “out of step” with a digital world is dictated by the passion to discover rare editions or books virtually unknown,” Mario explains. “I am compelled by an irresistible impulse to study, observe and touch a book—where all the senses are involved. This passion is driven by cultural enjoyment and the desire to preserve history—not as a mere economic interest, since that would end all the magic that surrounds the world of books.”